Afghanistan and the EU

01/03/2016 - 14:00

Thematic Pages

The EU has a long-term commitment to Afghanistan and its people. Its main aim is to develop Afghanistan's institutions so that the progress already made is maintained. The EU also wants to help in establishing a sustainable Afghan state.

Afghanistan receives more development aid from the EU than from any other country.

The EU works with the Afghan government and international partners to ensure that this assistance is spent properly. The funds mainly go towards health, agriculture, policing and the democratic oversight of government.

Aid to uprooted

During the years of conflict in Afghanistan, a huge number of Afghans left the country, leading to a one of the largest refugee displacements in recent history.

Since 2002, 5.8 million people have returned to Afghanistan. However, a high number of Afghans still remain in neighbouring countries. Meanwhile, the number of conflict-related Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Afghanistan has risen to around 820 000.

Since 2004, the EU has funded projects worth some €122 million for the reintegration of returnees, refugees and IDPs in Afghanistan and neighbouring host countries. A further €25 million has been provided to sustain these efforts.

Together with the MoPH, the EU has also invested in a programme that looks at governance, human resources, hospital management, mental health, disability and prison health.

As a result of the above, health, nutrition and population outcome have improved dramatically.

Food security

From 2001 to 2012, the EU supported food security in Afghanistan with €142 million.

Its support to food security has been delivered under the framework of Linking Relief to Rehabilitation and Development, with a focus on the consolidation of coping mechanisms and the overall resilience of the most food insecure households in Afghanistan.

The EU has also supported food insecurity interventions in urban areas, including the funding of an innovative Urban Poverty Study.

LOTFA pays the salaries of more than 150 000 Afghan National Police officers and over 6 000 uniformed personnel. It is also helping reform the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and the Afghan National Police (ANP).

As of July 2016, the EU contribution totals €403 million worth in disbursements.

Enhancing the rule of law

The EUSR Rule of Law Unit was set up to build on the work of EUPOL's Rule of Law Component, which ended in late 2015.

As well as being active on a political level, EUSR focuses on the following areas:

police-prosecutor cooperation

justice sector reform,

gender

human rights

corruption

European Commission Support to Provincial Governance Programme

This programme aims at improving local governance across Afghanistan through the funding of individual projects. It is helping reach the desired end state, where local law enforcement structures and administration will be able to maintain law and order and deliver services, without outside assistance. More information can be found under the Guidelines for applicants.

Civil Society Dialogue

The EU Delegation liaises closely with Afghan and international civil society actors. Regular consultations are held and cover various issues of mutual interest, such as awareness raising, donor coordination, women's rights, capacity building and access to justice.

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are essential partners in the implementation of EU assistance and are key partners.

The Delegation closely monitors the situation on the ground in order to take fact-based decisions that have an impact on the lives of Afghans.

Afghanistan is a partner country of Erasmus+ offering a number of opportunities for higher education students, doctoral candidates, staff and higher education institutions (HEIs) from around the world.

The EU and its Member States acknowledge the important progress made by the Government of Afghanistan in promoting respect for human rights, in particular in the field of freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, freedom of the media, and on the legislative side. We also welcome the commitments underlining the priority areas of the Afghan Government, expressed during the Universal Periodic Review of Afghanistan in January 2014 in Geneva, within the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework and at other occasions.

However, the human rights situation in Afghanistan remains fragile and worrying. Key areas of concern for the EU continue to be women's rights, children's rights, the death penalty, torture and ill-treatment, freedom of expression, civilian casualties, access to justice and rights of persons with disabilities.

It is crucial for the government to follow up on the positive steps taken and implement important laws and national action plans, such as the Elimination of the Violence against Women (EVAW) Law and the National Action Plan (NAP) on Women, Peace and Security. The EU remains committed to support these efforts.

The EU+ Human Rights and Gender Working Group, that consists of all EU Member States present in Afghanistan as well as Australia, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, United States, UNAMA/OHCHR, UNICEF, UN Women, RSM and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, meet regularly to coordinate common efforts to assist the Afghan Government in improving human rights, and especially women's and children's rights in Afghanistan.

Human Rights Dialogue between EU and Afghanistan

On 1 June 2016 the second EU-Afghanistan Human Rights Dialogue was held in Kabul. Constructive discussions took place on a range of issues, including women's rights, children's rights, death penalty, torture, access to justice, freedom of expression and the rights of socially vulnerable and/or persons with disabilities. The outcome of the dialogue is the Table of Agreed Deliverables and Indicator. The Government and EU held a follow up meeting on the dialogue on 30 November 2016. The table of deliverables have been amended accordingly.

On 20 September, the Finnish Embassy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the EU Delegation in Afghanistan held a Conference on the implementation of the National Action Plan (UNSCR 1325) on Women, Peace and Security.

The conference was attended by Deputy Ministers, Members of Parliament, Ambassadors, Government officials and members of civil society. The participants discussed ways to better implement the National Action Plan all over the country and gave a number of recommendations in this regard.